Twilight ARTS of Beacon
by Mikainox
Summary: The story of four transfer students to Beacon, their adventures and everyday antics in the world of Remnant. With troubled pasts and an uncertain future, they fight for the safety of the people as huntsman-in-training in a world that is not light or dark, but something in between. Focus will be on OC team. No shipping with canon characters. Story will get dark.
1. Chapter 1: Exam, Entrances, Encounters

Author's Note: Welcome to my first fanfiction! I'm Mikainox, and I hope you all enjoy it. Since it's my first fanfic and more so the first chapter, it may not be as good as some others. Also it's a bit lengthy, and I probably will end up shortening subsequent chapters. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you all have some fun with this. Please note that this will have no shipping of official characters outside of established relationships like married couples or parents like Ruby's. I also would appreciate any and all forms of review and constructive criticism, as I know this isn't the best thing in the world, and I want to improve my work. Without further ado, read on.

Twilight ARTS of Beacon

Chapter 1: "Exam, Entrances, and Encounters"

Heroes. Villains. Light. Darkness. Good. Evil. Mankind is fond of focusing on the antipodal aspects of their own being, all too easily forgetting that these aspects are but portions of themselves, with every person containing some of each. For in every person there is both good and evil, and life is not always so clear cut as to reveal which aspect controls a person.

The day is overcast and chilly, the season having turned more towards winter. A few wisps of fog are floating about on the grounds of the prestigious and honored Beacon Hunting Academy. Most of the students are still in their dorms at this time of the morning, but there are still quite a few people loitering about in the main auditorium. These people are waiting for the famous headmaster of Beacon, Professor Ozpin, to come and inform them of their objectives in the rigorous transfer exam.

Off to the side of the massive auditorium, three young adults are conversing. One of them is a young girl on the shorter side with silver eyes, red hair so dark it's almost black, wearing a red and black combat skirt with a corset and a red hood, as well as boots. On her waist is a folded up weapon. Next to her is a tall young man with blue eyes, blonde hair, wearing jeans and an orange and black hooded sweatshirt, as well as gloves, sneakers, and a metal breastplate. On his waist is a sheathed sword. The two of them are animatedly talking to another young man, who is slightly shorter than the other boy, wearing black combat pants, black combat boots, an iron grey t-shirt, and a black vest that has multiple pockets and a high collar. He also wears a black and grey knit hat that completely covers his hair and he also has on dark sunglasses completely obscuring his eyes. His skin is a light white. On his wrists and forearms are a pair of chains wrapped multiple times around. The links are all different colors, in a varying pattern.

The girl says to the second young man, "I can't wait for you to finish this silly test. You'll probably breeze right through it, especially with your weapon. After all, I was the one who helped you make it. And I know my weapons, after all, just look at my sweetheart. " She says this while cuddling cutely with her high-caliber sniper scythe, some other people around them off-put by her affections for the scary weapon. The girl then turns to the sweatshirt wearing young man and with an adorable smile says, "Right Jaune?"

"Now Ruby, it's not all about the weapon, I mean, I just have this hand-me-down sword and shield," brushing his hand over the weapon in question before going on, "and I passed the entrance exam despite my, uh, shortcomings. So there's no need for him to worry at all if someone like me was able to get into Beacon and stay in," Jaune points out.

The other young man smiles warmly at his two friends and says, "I know, I know. I just have to pass the transfer exam and then I can officially join Beacon with you guys. I'm both excited and nervous, after all, I'm not exactly in a team with anyone. I'm also not sure anyone would want to even be in a team with me." Ruby and Jaune both look at their friend, then face each other and smile, before looking at him with huge grins on their faces and simultaneously chirping, "NOPE." Ruby then comments, "There's no way nobody would want to team up with you Art! You're a great guy, AND you've got a cool weapon," pointing at the chains on Art's arms. Jaune then pipes up, "Art, trust me, you'll be able to get in a team who'll accept you and support you for who you are. Me and Ruby both got good teammates who care about us, I'm sure it'll be the same for you. After all, it's like my mother always said, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.' My mom is almost always right you know."

Art gave them a conflicted smile, he loved his friends Ruby and Jaune dearly, but he wasn't sure if he could believe them, after all, with what he is and what he's experienced before he met the two of them, there wasn't a lot of support for what they are saying.

At that moment a young woman makes her way over to the trio, a cheeky grin plastered over her face as she saunters up to them. The new girl quips, "If you're here for the transfer exam pal, why the dust are you so chummy with those who are clearly already students?"

The young woman has feathery hair which is white blue at the crown and on her bangs, which transitions into reddish-orange streaks towards the ends. Her hair style is a single large French braid. Her left eye is a warm orange, while her right eye is an icy blue. Her skin is tanned deeply. She is wearing blue denim short-shorts with white ice crystal designs, with an orange and red flame-patterned tank top and suspenders as well as red and blue fingerless gloves. She also wears a sleeveless whitish-blue vest. She has dangle earrings set with small rubies and sapphires, and wears a silver ringlet on her right arm just below her elbow. On her head is an orange bandana, on her neck is a pair of good headphones. Her boots clearly were her weapons, being sturdy with metal plating covering the heels and capping the toes, with a firing mechanism built into the soles.

The newcomer slyly winked at Ruby and Jaune before addressing Art with confident look, "Most people who take this exam are either those who are coming from other combat academies in the other kingdoms, or those who passed muster in an interview session with a Beacon rep. Either way, it shouldn't be the case that you would already know Beacon students pal." Art silently looked back at the strange girl, an impassive mask devoid of emotion on his face. "So you aren't gonna play the easy way, huh handsome? Gonna make a poor, beautiful girl tackle the first intro huh? Too cool for that? You're gonna freeze my heart with how _cool_ your actin'." The girl teased, slipping in a pun. "That's cool with me, guess I hafta intro first," the girl took a breath and said, "Well the name is Feuer Raureif. What's the monikers you all go by? I'm guessing crimson, soldier boy, and dark downer. Heh."

Ruby smiled, "Hello Feuer, I'm Ruby Rose, nice to meet you. Your shoes look awesome, is that dust forged? What kind of rounds do they shoot? I think the wedging on the heel was a good idea, it transmits more force that way. …" Ruby continued to babble on and on about Feuer's boots. Feuer laughed and Jaune and Art smiled at the redhead's antics. Jaune cleared his throat, stopping Ruby's monologue, and grinned at Feuer, "The name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it!" Feuer simply smirked and raised an eyebrow, and looked at Jaune until he said, "Well at least I hope they will." Feuer then expectantly looked at Art until he sighed, "You're going to stay here until I give you my name aren't you?" Feuer giggled, "You know it Handsome!" Ruby and Jaune gave silent looks of encouragement, motioning to Art for him to do it, he heaved another sigh, "Artorius Scheherazade. My friends call me Art. As Ruby's sister Yang put it, 'No way am I calling you Artorius every single time, that's waaay too much of a mouthful. From here on out, we're gonna call you Art. After all, you're always working on yours." Feuer smiled, "Sounds like Yang and I would get on famously. But you work on art huh?" She ignored the sudden warning looks Ruby and Jaune sent her while shaking their heads, "What kind of art do you do? I personally am a music lover." Artorius's demeanor drastically and suddenly changed, no longer feeling cold and distant, he proudly drew up his chest and declared, "Why, I work on the greatest kind of art in the world, scrimshaw! Noble craft it is." Feuer looked puzzled. "Scrimshaw? What on Remnant is that?" she queried. Artorius was aghast, "You don't know what scrimshaw is? Well allow me to enlighten you…."

At that moment, Professor Glynda Goodwitch spoke into the microphone on the auditorium's stage. "Would all examinees please gather in front of the stage and pay attention to Headmaster Ozpin. He will speak to all of you as to the structure of the exam and where it will take place. Thank you."

Artorius glumly sighed as his lecture had been cut off before it had truly begun. Ruby and Jaune breathed out in relief, as they knew that had Artorius been allowed to continue, he would have gone on for hours, as he is like Ruby is with weapons. Feuer grinned at Artorius and hooked her arm in his, to his discomfort, and led him over to the growing crowd in front of the stage.

"Come on Handsome, we need to be over there. Later Ruby, Jaune. Stay jiving!" Feuer shouted at the two.

"Let go of my arm, I can walk on my own." Artorius complained.

"Nuh-uh pal, if I did that you'd go to a different area than me." Feuer asserted.

Artorius planted his feet, stopping Feuer in her tracks, and turned to face Ruby and Jaune, a serious look on his face. "Ruby. Jaune. I promise that I'll pass this exam and then we can truly be together at this school. Wait for me."

Ruby and Jaune smiled at Artorius. "We'll be waiting for you and your team Art!" Ruby said, beaming. "I'll get Ren to make you a huge stack of his chocolate chip pancakes for you after you pass." Jaune said, a huge smile plastered across his lips.

"Just make sure Nora doesn't eat them, you know how she gets with Ren's pancakes." Artorius said, grinning.

Feuer was smiling now as well, she looked at Artorius and said, "You have great friends, Artorius." "I sure do." Artorius replied, as the continued to walk towards the crowd of fellow examinees.

Watching the pair, Ruby and Jaune looked at each other before heading back to their dorms. "I'm glad Art was able to make a new friend so quickly." Jaune said to Ruby. "She seemed great, though her puns remind me a little too much of Yang. 'freeze' 'cool' that was bad." Ruby replied with a small frown on her face. Jaune grimaced, "Tell me about it."

As Artorius and Feuer mingled in with the other examinees, Beacon's illustrious headmaster stood in front of the microphone, looking for all Remnant the sagely master huntsman he was.

The crowd started to hush as Glynda Goodwitch looked out at the crowd, a stern and intimidating look on her gorgeous face.

Glynda Goodwitch declared loudly, "Now if the chatter would stop, Headmaster Ozpin is ready to begin."

"Thank you Miss Goodwitch. Welcome young aspiring hunters, to Beacon's Transfer and Unique Circumstances Exam."

Feuer was confused at that, she thought that it was a transfer exam, so what was the deal with the 'Unique Circumstances' part. She snuck a glance at Artorius, he was as stoic as ever, and seemed unsurprised at the reveal.

Ozpin continued, "It's also called TUC for short, as I am sure you all are loathe to spend unnecessary effort in speaking long words. The young do love their acronyms, as do I. Beacon is one of the four greatest Huntsman academies in Remnant, and as such our TUC exam is no simple task. The exam will take place in the Shadewood." Many gasped at that, as the Shadewood is one of the most dangerous places in the portion of the continent that Vale is in, positively teeming with Grimm of both the common and even the rare kinds. Even Huntsman hesitate to enter the place with how dangerous it is.

Feuer and Artorius weren't particularly surprised, in fact this sort of thing was to be expected, as they were trying to enter the academy months after the semester had started. Several others seemed unsurprised as well.

Ozpin went on, "In the Shadewood is a shrine, at that shrine I have placed several relics, you will pass the exam only if you and your partner have a relic in your possession after surviving in the Shadewood for two days, after which you will make your way to the boulder shaped like an Ursa at the entrance of the Shadewood to be picked up by us. Remember to destroy everything in your way, or you will die for certain."

"We will now pass around a card to each person taking this exam. On this card is a number, a letter, and a color. You must find the person among your fellow examinees who has the same three traits to determine who your partner will be for the exam and the rest of your time here at Beacon." Ozpin described.

As cards were handed out, Artorius and Feuer discussed what Ozpin had been saying.

"I'm curious as to what the relics are. I hope they're something awesome." Feuer said energetically.

"I don't know. But based on what Ruby and Jaune told me….. Probably something like chess pieces…." Artorius mused.

"Chess pieces huh? Bet those were the relics in your friends' entrance exam, 'ey Handsome?" Feuer asserted confidently.

"Yeah, that's correct." Artorius admitted.

At that point the cards reached the two. Artorius grabbed a card from the middle of the stack, while Feuer snatched one from the bottom.

"I got 4, X, Green. What did you get pal?" Feuer queried.

Artorius remained silent for a few moments before responding.

"Same here."

"Alright! We're partners! This is gonna be sweet!" Feuer cheered, pumping her fists up and down in excitement.

Artorius was more subdued about this, "I suppose as far as partners go, I could do a lot worse than you Feuer."

Feuer grinned at Artorius, "Well partner, I feel as though we will do epic things together. Wouldn't you say Handsome?"

Artorius gave her a small smile, "As long as you don't call me that anymore, I think we might be able to get along great. Seriously though, call me Art."

"Well then Art, let's do this thing."

Ozpin cleared his throat, and drew the examinees' attention back to himself.

"Now that the partners have been determined, the exam will begin at seven thirty in the evening. You will be dropped off in the Shadewood by dustplane. Any questions?" Ozpin concluded, taking a sip from his mug.

Artorius suddenly had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Scheherazade?"

"Exactly how will we be dropped off from the dustplanes?" Artorius nervously queried, remembering the stories his friends, especially Jaune, told him of their entrance exam in the Emerald forest.

Ozpin didn't say anything, remaining still for a few moments. Slowly, the ends of his mouth curved upward ever so slightly, and the Headmaster of Beacon grinned.

End of chapter note: Man Ozpin, you're a bit of a jerk! I guess I am too, considering I ended the chapter right there, *laughs*. In all seriousness though, thanks so much for reading the first chapter of my RWBY fanfiction Twilight ARTS of Beacon. I know it was a bit long, but this was a bit of a set-up chapter. Most chapters after this won't be that long. I think. Anyway, until next time! Mikainox signing off!


	2. Chapter 2: Into the Fray, Beacon's Way

**A/N: Wow, I got three followers? Nice! Thanks for those who decided to follow my little tale, and thank you to those who decided to review as well. I would also like to take a moment to thank anyone who took a look at the first chapter. Hopefully you enjoyed it, and hopefully you all will enjoy this one. I know I enjoyed writing it, that's for sure. Anyway, on to the second chapter!**

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Twilight ARTS of Beacon

Chapter 2: Into the Fray, Beacon's Way

The Headmaster of Beacon stood at the podium of Beacon's main auditorium and grinned at the question asked by Artorius Scheherazade. "You will be using your own landing strategy after exiting the dust plane you ride to the Shade Forest."

Artorius gulped and visibly blanched at the mention of how he and the others taking the exam would be getting to the testing grounds, but he knew there was more.

"However, due to the presence of unique plant type Grimm endemic to the Shade Forest, we will be unable to go below cruising altitude with our dust planes." Ozpin concluded.

Artorius stood stock still for a few seconds until he grabbed the sides of his face, fell to his knees and screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Feuer amusedly watched Artorius' outburst before patting the trembling, mumbling wreck of a young man. "Art, pal, while it's entertaining to watch you like this, you need to get your pretty self back together before you embarrass yourself any more in front of both our peers and the people, who, y'know, _grade our performance?_ "

Artorius grimaced and quickly glanced at the crowd of fellow examinees, before he took a deep breath and let out that breath slowly.

He stood up and addressed Feuer, "Sorry Feuer, I just couldn't help myself after hearing how we're going to get to the Shade Forest."

Ozpin announced at that point, "Now that there are no more questions, please head to the dust plane station and be ready for departure." Ozpin walked away, taking sips from his mug while doing so, as Glynda followed after him.

The crowd of students began to head for the mentioned area at varying speeds. Artorius and Feuer followed them at a slower pace. Artorius walked with his hands in his pockets while Feuer walked with her hands crossed behind her head.

As they left the auditorium and stared on the path to the dust plane station, Feuer addressed Artorius. "I've only known you for a short bit of time Art, and I gotta be straight with ya, I never expected you to be afraid of heights. Hehe" Feuer said, continuing their conversation from earlier, as a slight chuckle escaped from her lips.

Artorius frowned, and replied, "Feuer, I am not afraid of heights."

"Oh? Then why did you react that way then? If you ain't afraid of heights? Cause you totally were acting like a child who just discovered that there's an imaginary Grimm under his bed?"

"I'm not afraid of heights, I'm afraid of dust planes and jumping out of them even more so."

"Ah, I see. Betcha something happened to you while you were a kid huh? Something big to make some Donald Downer like you act that way."

Artorius sighed at that, "Yeah…."

"Wanna talk 'bout it Art?" Feuer inquired.

"Not right now." Artorius said tersely.

"Aww, c'mon! Please? I won't even tease you for it!" Feuer whined.

"No." Feuer began to tear up at that, and looked at Artorius with a begging look, her eyes widened, and her lips started quivering.

Exasperated, Artorius grunted and refused to acknowledge Feuer's actions until he finally relented, "Fine, just stop crying damn it! Oum take all women who cry like that to get what they want! I can't believe I was guilt-tripped into telling you."

Feuer held up victory signs with both hands with a smirk of triumph on her face, "Heh, works every time."

"I hate you Feuer."

"Love you too with all my heArt." Feuer snickered at her pun while Artorius ground his teeth in frustration.

"That was stupid. What were you thinking, making such a shitty pun?"

"I was thinking about what pun to make, of course. Why?"

Artorius took a moment to face palm at that. They then exited the main building, their eyes adjusting to the overcast skies after having been in the brightly lit interior of Beacon's main building. The pair strolled past the arches on the way to the square that was the last place before the dust plane station.

Art gathered his thoughts for a moment, "It was when I was six. I was invited to take a ride in a neighbor's dust plane. I was really nervous when we took off since the damned thing was such a rickety, patched-up old thing. The flight was routine until one of the engines caught fire and exploded. I was crying because I thought I was gonna die. Then I was forced to jump to the ground from about three stories up. I didn't want to jump, 'cause I was scared, but I did, and as soon as I did, the damned death machine blew up above me and sent me hurtling fast into the ground. I broke my right arm, my left leg and my two fingers on my left hand, not to mention my back was burned from the explosion. I swore to never get on one of those death traps unless there absolutely was no other viable option."

Feuer whistled, "Shit Art that sucks so much."

Artorius continued, "I never had to get on another dust plane until recently,and I was in fetal position the whole time freaking out even then. My friends, two of whom you met earlier, had to carry me off."

"That's quite the trauma ya got there Art my pal."

Art set his face into a hardened grimace, his mouth set into a line. "I'd rather WALK to the Shade Forest and deal with tons of Grimm on the way there than get on one of those flying metal death traps and jump out of it."

"Well, Art, I think that you're just gonna have to deal with our ride. If you wanna be a Huntsman, using dust planes are pretty much your only option. No other vehicle can transport huntsman to where they need to be as effectively as dust planes." Feuer pointed out.

Artorius grimaced again before he replied, "I know. I don't like it, but I get your point."

The two young Hunters reached the plaza with the statue of some heroes from the war while their conversation continued.

"Art, you're gonna be hilarious on the flight, I can't wait. This'll be so much ammo to tease you with." Feuer said with a cheeky smirk on her face.

Artorius groaned, "You're an insufferable jerk sometimes Feuer. You enjoy watching me suffer too much."

Feuer stuck her tongue out at Artorius with a wink, "I only tease those who I like, and you're such a fun target."

Artorius raised an eyebrow, "With how you treat those you like, I sure as dust don't want to know what you do to people you aren't fond of."

As the two reached the fountain in the center of the cobbled plaza, a nasally voice called out to the pair, "Well, well, well, if it isn't Feuer Raureif. Grind District's famous super-freak."

Artorius and Feuer turned to see the owner of such an unpleasant voice, and weren't surprised to see a greasy-haired young man with an unpleasant face wearing olive drab battle uniform who approached them while two other unpleasant young men and a haughty young girl followed the greasy-head, all wearing the same battle uniform in olive drab.

A look of disdain was on all of their faces as they glared at Feuer. Feuer schooled her pretty features into a mask of indifference. Artorius noted the change in atmosphere around Feuer, and frowned at the developing situation. Greasy-head seemed to know Feuer from before she came to try to get into Beacon, Artorius realized, and he wondered what he meant by calling her a 'super freak'. Artorius ground his teeth, he truly hated people like this.

Greasy-head continued on without a care, his voice positively oozing with hatred and malice, "I can't believe somebody like you is taking the Beacon TUC exam, Feuer. After all, this place isn't for somebody such as you. Since you're too stupid to have done any looking into it, let me try to help your inferior brain understand, this is a place for the heroes of the people such as me, not freaks like you. I bet you'll fail horribly and be sent home, isn't that right team?"

The three companions, now revealed as teammates to the greasy-headed leader all guffawed loudly. "That's right!" "You showed her!" "What a cow!"

Feuer, impressively, remained in control in the face of such insults, her voice calm and collected as she shot back, "I'm impressed you know the difference between what a hero and a freak is, considering what your grades were like at our old school, Friedrich."

Artorius continued passively observing, but inside was a maelstrom of emotions, both hatred for the blatant disrespect these four were showing his friend, and amazement that Feuer had remained so civil.

Friedrich sneered at Feuer, "I'll have you know that while my grades weren't the best, they were leagues better than yours, you fucking freak of nature. May I remind you that you failed out, since your pathetic sub-human memory seems to have lost that particular piece of information?"

Artorius noticed that Feuer's patience was beginning to wear away slowly, while he was growing ever angrier at the slime ball before them. He concluded that there was a reason for Friedrich's attitude towards Feuer, in fact he was forming the basic idea of that reason.

"It seems it's your memory that is the one that's lacking, seeing as you never once beat me in a fight at our ol' school and I've outsmarted you every time you tried to do something to me. You're a disgrace to decent people everywhere and I can't wait till you inevitably fail the exam. C'mon Art, let's head to the dust plane we're taking to the Shade Forest and forget about these future Grimm chow. Although with how disgusting they are, I think even the Grimm won't wanna eat 'em." Feuer shot back. She turned on her heel, and began to walk away from the now spluttering and enraged Friedrich and his cronies. Artorius followed Feuer, satisfied that his friend hadn't let herself get pushed around by Friedrich.

Friedrich spluttered in rage, at a loss for having been insulted by someone whom he considered worthless and far below himself. Friedrich screamed at Feuer's receding back once his wits returned, "Don't you fucking dare leave now after saying that, you fucking bitch HALF! You and your whore mother and bastard father are less than dirt! You should be grateful we even paid you any attention! You shouldn't even exist!"

Feuer and Artorius froze, with Feuer trembling in rage. Time seemed to stand still for a few precious seconds before Feuer emitted massive amounts of killing intent towards Friedrich, causing the young man to start shaking in sheer terror. Friedrich's three flunkies ran for their lives in panic despite Feuer's killing intent not being directed specifically at them.

Friedrich yelled at them, "Don't leave me you bastards!"

Feuer slowly turned around, and faced Friedrich with a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. Feuer's killing intent momentarily disappeared.

Friedrich breathed out in relief before swiftly sucking that breath back in when Feuer, who, with rapid dance-like steps, approached Friedrich, the distance between them closed seemingly instantly, and launched a powerful stabbing high kick aimed right at his throat, primed to crush it.

Friedrich clenched his eyes shut and braced himself for the incoming pain, when he suddenly heard, 'SMACK'. He opened his eyes to see that Artorius had grabbed Feuer's leg at the ankle and stopped her kick an inch away from hitting Friedrich's neck.

"Feuer if you attack him now, you'll regret it, because you could be stopped from taking the exam. As much as I would like to pulverize this prick as well, we have somewhere more important to be. C'mon, let's go."

Artorius slowly lowered Feuer's leg and placed an arm around her shaking shoulders before shooting a venomous glare at Friedrich filled with so much killing intent that Friedrich pissed himself in terror.

The pair walked away, leaving Friedrich to collapse to the ground as his legs gave out thanking the entire universe that Artorius had stopped Feuer's kick from reaching him, as a dust forged steel-heeled boot would have destroyed his windpipe at the angle the kick had been thrown, especially considering how poor he was with Aura and how little he had. However, Friedrich also started twitching in fear, as bad as Feuer's killing intent had been, the sheer intensity and coldness of the killing intent Artorius had shown was crippling. It was almost like that hatred came from somewhere deeper than just from seeing a friend insulted.

Friedrich then shivered, what if Artorius had decided to attack instead of leaving peacefully? Friedrich decided to stop pondering over that since it frankly terrified him. He then decided to go change clothes and find his cowardly teammates, after all, no self-respecting human being goes around with soiled pants right?

As Artorius led Feuer away towards their destination, he gave a look at her that very clearly said 'Explain. Now'.

Feuer sighed tiredly before remarking, "That's actually pretty common for me. I've dealt with morons like that my whole life. I don't really give a Boarbatusk's behind when people make fun of me, seeing as I'm awesome and they just don't get how cool I am, but I absolutely hate it when they direct their malice towards my family."

Artorius nodded, having noticed that Feuer only attacked after Friedrich had insulted her parents. Artorius then cautiously broached the key detail that was the reason for Friedrich's attitude towards Feuer, "He called you a half, so that means one of your parents is a human and one's a faunus…."

"Yeah, my dad is a human, and my mother is a faunus; she's a nightingale sub-type."

"I see…..are you discontent with who you are?"

"No, I'm proud of who I am, and I'm proud to be the child of such wonderful parents. They never let the racists and those who are opposed to their relationship get them riled up, and I intend to follow their example. Though I sometimes fail to keep my temper in check, like what happened just now."

Feuer then looked down sadly, "I didn't intend to hide my heritage from you, but since my faunus trait, which is my hair that is similar to feathers, doesn't really pop out in an obvious way, I didn't want to draw attention to it. Y'know, 'cause I wanted you to be friends with me and also I didn't want you to judge me based on what I was, but rather who I was."

Feuer then almost whispered, "I would understand if you were upset with me not telling you something important like this, and didn't want to be partners with me, Art."

Feuer sucked in a breath, and braced herself for Artorius' response. Artorius took his arm off of Feuer's shoulders and placed both his hands on them instead and declared, "Feuer I don't care if you're a half. That kind of thing doesn't matter to me. I may have not known you for very long, but you've already managed to worm your way into my heart as a friend, which isn't easy you know. Don't worry. I will support my friends with every fiber of my being."

Feuer's head snapped up to look into Artorius' eyes, a look of gratitude on her face, "Art…."

Artorius then took on a somber expression, his eyes dimming with sadness, "Besides…..Human, Faunus, or even Half, there's no difference at all between them, especially when it comes to something like me…"

Feuer's eyes narrowed at that last statement and she tried to interrogate Artorius, "Wait! Art, whaddya by 'something like me'?"

Artorius clammed up and grew distant, turning away from Feuer, removing his hands from her shoulders and withdrawing into himself.

"C'mon Art, what did you mean? You're not telling me something important aren't you?" Feuer prodded him.

Artorius simply remained silent, refusing to answer Feuer.

Feuer grew frustrated, "You ain't gonna tell me huh? Alright, fine! I can see that you won't tell me at this point! I won't press this issue now, but just know, I WILL make you tell me one day, and you WON'T be able to refuse. Whenever you're ready to share with me, I'll be ready Art."

Feuer then smiled happily, "But I really am grateful that you are okay with being my partner. I can't tell you how much I worried about how my partner would react once they found out about what I am. Thank you pal."

Artorius turned back to Feuer and said, "What you _are_ is a frustratingly aggressive friend-maker, who has no sense of when someone wanted to be left alone. I was really uncomfortable with you at first, but now I feel fine being partnered with you."

"Especially since I was also really worried about who I would end up partnered with." Artorius confided.

"Actually I overheard you voicing to your friends Ruby and Jaune about that concern, and that's the reason I decided to interact with you. I mean, in that regard we were already comrades right?" Feuer admitted, a cheeky smirk plastered on her face.

"I'm glad you did. I don't think being partnered with someone else would have gone over as well." Artorius mused dourly.

"You betcha Art! Now let's get going! We don't wanna be late to the take-off. That would suck!" Feuer cheered while hooking her arm around Artorius' as she pulled him towards the dust plane port.

Artorius groaned, "I'm really enjoying this last contact with the ground. This is gonna be horrible. Why do dust planes have to be a thing? Why did people decide it was a good idea to use machines to go where they weren't meant to?"

Feuer snickered, "You really are a wuss when it comes to flying in dust planes. Don't worry, this is Beacon! I'm sure that the dust plane we're taking is state of the art and completely safe, with an expert pilot!"

"I guess you're right Feuer, when I was flown into Beacon, it was a fairly new plane. I'll just have to deal with it." Artorius sighed reluctantly.

The two friends arrived at the dust plane port, and began looking for their assigned ride. The port is a bustling place, filled with dust planes, pilots, passengers, mechanics, and others. It's very well taken care of, scrubbed clean and without any litter on the ground. Every worker is going around efficiently, and proctors for the TUC exam are guiding students to their planes.

A staff member from Beacon with a Scroll approached and then addressed them, "Artorius Scheherazade and Feuer Raureif, correct? Your dust plane is in port 20-C. Please get there quickly, as we're in the final stages of preparation to leave for the Shade Forest."

Artorius simply nodded while Feuer warbled, "Understood, proctor!"

When Artorius and Feuer finally reached port 20-C, they got their first glimpse of the dust plane they were taking. Artorius started shaking in fear while Feuer's eyes bulged out and her jaw dropped. The dust plane they were taking was a very old model, with patched damages all over it, and it was missing one piece of landing gear. The pilot was a gruff old man with mottled skin and almost no teeth wearing old-fashioned pilot clothes, goggles and all.

"Ya two brats are late! What are ya standing around fer? Git on Betsy a'ready! We ain't got the time ta waste!"

" _B-Be-Betsy_?" Artorius squeaked while Feuer gently smiled with sympathy for Artorius.

"Betsy and I, Joel Wien been servin' Beacon since a'fore even Ozpin was a hunter. You brats got nothin' ta fret 'bout since we've never crashed, even when Betsy's engines gave out all those times. I wasn't even 'sposed ta be flying for this exam, but Ozpin specifically asked me ta for some reason he wouldn't tell me. Now git on!"

"C'mon Art, it's time to go." Feuer said as she gently, but firmly, led Artorius onto Betsy to join the other students already on board. "NOOOOOOOOOOO! ANYTHING BUT THIIIIIIIIS!" Artorius screamed in terror and desperation while struggling and dragging his feet to avoid the inevitable.

Meanwhile in the headmaster's office, Professor Ozpin took a sip of his coffee and smirked as he watched Artorius struggle before being made to get on Betsy through his Scroll. Glynda looked with pity on the young examinees, "Ozpin, I thought Captain Wien was retired, what made you request him to fly some of our potential students?" "Oh, I thought it would be entertain-I mean, I did it to help young Artorius face his fear of dust planes of course. After all, he needs to get over that if he is to be a hunter. Heh" Ozpin said with a snort of laughter. Glynda sighed, and said softly so Ozpin couldn't hear, "Mr. Scheherazade, I hope for your sake that you get there safely, and that Ozpin tires of toying with you soon. Good luck, you'll need it."

* * *

 **End of chapter note: Well, that's the second chapter down. I hope you enjoyed it. I didn't know last time how long each chapter might be, so I just guessed that the first one would be the longest. Oops. And man, I sure am painting Ozpin to be a jerk huh? If you took the time to read this, please leave a review if you want, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I don't even mind if you say, "It SUCKS," so long as you at least give me an idea why so that I can improve it. I'm still an amateur at this, so I am aware that I need to improve, but not telling me how will only make us all unhappy, eh? Anyway, I've talked long enough, so, this is Mikainox signing off! Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3: Plane Rides, New Friends

Twilight ARTS of Beacon

Chapter 3: Bullhead Rides and New Friends

A/N: New chapter everyone, sorry for the long stretch between chapters... I'd like to blame extenuating circumstances, but honestly, I'm just lazy. *Laughs* Well, enough talking, enjoy the chapter!

Feuer dragged Artorius onto Betsy, ignoring his flailing limbs and his begging to be allowed off the "metal deathtrap" that Betsy was. Captain Wien headed past them to the pilots cabin. Feuer deposited Artorius on the floor as the outer doors closed, cutting off Artorius's last hope of getting off of Betsy. Artorius curled up on the floor, all the while whimpering and muttering rapidly, "I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die."

He kept muttering this over and over. Feuer ignored her partner's distress in favor of interacting with the two other occupants of Betsy.

One was a girl and one was a boy. The two of them were looking at Artorius with slightly different looks at his behavior.

The girl was looking a little more disdainful towards Artorius's actions, while the boy's look was more amused.

The girl was on the shorter side, with mocha skin and dark leaf green hair. Her eyes were a dark yellow with slitted snake-like pupils, with dark long eyelashes. She is petite with a slim waist and narrow hips and a smaller bust than Feuer's. She wears a silken veil that is a pale, glittery green, along with a beige tube top with brown leggings covered by a green ankle length sarong. She also wears green and beige scale-mail armor; a scaled fauld and a scaled bracer on her. She also wears strapped sandals. She also has on gold teardrop earrings and a golden torc. Slung around her shoulders is her weapon, a longbow with blades on the outside of the limbs. Around her waist are two quivers filled with dust-forged arrows. Her face is beautiful, but harsh and dignified. A frown is currently on her features.

The boy on the other hand, was large, aller than all the others by a large margin. He is well-muscled and has aquiline features. His hair is coiffed into a regent hairstyle and is a dark, glossy black. His eyes are pure black, seemingly devoid of light, but not devoid of warmth. He wears a black and dark grey stylish tunic with knee length zipper boots. He also wears a hooded war cloak that is dark grey with black highlights. Strapped to his back is a his weapon, a Xiaolin spade-bolt-action-rifle that is almost as large as he is. An amused smirk flamboyantly adorned his face. He has a silver stud earring on his right ear.

It's clear the two were partners. Feuer broke into a smile and cheerfully addressed the two, "Hey there! I'm Feuer Raureif! Nice to meet'cha! What are your names?"

"Why I dare say I'm going to take pleasure in your companionship if you're this friendly at the start, my heart." The boy replied with mirth, before he declared dramatically, "The moniker I go by is Obsidianus Tiberius! Soon-to-be Huntsman and lover extraordinaire! Use it often!" He gave a confident smile.

Feuer was taken aback at this dramatic introduction, if only for a second. "I see, you're a bit of a drama king, aren't ya, Obsidianus?" Feuer grinned at him, before addressing the girl, "And you are?"

The girl curtly responded, "Scythia Verdant." Scythia then remained silent for about a minute. Feuer waited expectantly, thinking that Scythia would continue, before looking disappointed at Scythia's lack of desire to expound upon herself.

"Not much of a talker are ya?" Feuer said, a little dejected that Scythia didn't want to tell her anything else.

"Regretfully, I must inform you, Feuer my heart, that Scythia is the slightest smidge anti-social. Why she barely even enters any conversation of middling length with myself. Which is unfortunate, since it's not good for a girl her age to not interact with her peers. After all, companionship is the foundation of a wonderful life!"

"I don't need to interact with those shitheads. Especially pussies like your friend and partner there." Scythia deadpanned. Artorius groaned and glared at Scythia for that, before returning to his freak-out on the cabin floor, albeit at a more controlled state.

"Art? Yeah, I'll admit it's a little uncool how he's acting right now, but that's because he's got a trauma about flying in dust planes and jumping out of them." Feuer informed Scythia and by extension, Obsidianus. "Art?" Obsidianus and Scythia asked in clear confusion. "His full name is Artorius Scheherazade, but friends of his call him Art. I hope you'll call him that as well." Feuer explained.

Artorius then spoke up, querulously at first, then more firmly, "Th..That's be-because one of my friends didn't want to call me by my full name, and since I'm a devoted practice of the greatest art in the world, the nickname 'Art' was deemed perfect."

"And what art is that, pray tell?" Obsidianus inquired. "I'd like to hear this as well…" Scythia concurred.

Artoriuus gathered himself together, slowly standing up and dusting himself off, before declaring proudly, as if to the whole world, "Why scrimshaw of course! It's the greatest! No other form of art can compare!"

Scythia hissed out of anger, "No fuckin' way is that true! Some dumb art called scrimshaw can't be the greatest art!"

"My dear boy, I apologize, but I must oppose your opinion, as it's hogwash."

Even Feuer disagreed, "Art, you're my pal, but I'm gonna agree with Obsidianus and Scythia here."

"Oh? Then what do you all think is the highest form of art then?" Artorius replied, his fear now mostly subsided and replaced with indignation and frustration towards the other three's disagreement with his claims.

"Why that's because the greatest form of art is…." The three started in perfect sync. Then their opinions came out and they diverged at the same time.

"Theater of course. It's truly the pinnacle of human expression." Obsidianus stated grandiosely.

"Literature, the written word. Nothing else can fucking come close." Scythia said with finality.

"Music, song, and dance. Not only is it very expressive, it's very fun!" Feuer asserted with excitement.

Feuer, Obsidianus, and Scythia froze in place, and looked at each other in surprise, each having expected the others to agree with them on the highest form of art. Artorius stood still for a moment, before he snorted, then breaking out in laughter. "You three started out in perfect sync, and then immediately diverted opinions. You should see the looks on your faces!" Artorius said with a smile. Feuer smiled sheepishly at that. Obsidianus shrugged his shoulders, already over his surprise. Scythia looked away from the others, a dark blush of embarrassment stained her cheeks.

At that moment, Betsy shuddered and dropped for a few moments before rising back to its previous altitude. Artorius froze, and a look of fear replaced the amusement on his face, before he dropped to the floor and reassumed his fetal position, and he whimpered. Feuer crossed the cabin and started rubbing circles on Artorius's back in an attempt to soothe the frightened boy. Obsidianus followed suit and sat on the floor nearby to Artorius, his legs crossed over themselves. Scythia sighed and walked over to join them, with slight reluctance.

"Is there some way to get you to stop freaking out Art?" Feuer asked with concern for her friend. "Yeah, I hate to see a cutie like you in a state like this." Obsidianus said affectionately. "I don't know…. I wish I could think of something, but I can't think at all at the moment. Damn it." Art moaned in discomfort. Scythia looked at Art, sympathy flashed across her face for a moment, before being replaced by indifference.

"Hey pussy…" Scythia began before Artorius angrily cut her off. "I'm not a pussy! Don't call me that Scythia!" Scythia rolled her eyes before continuing with a dry retort, "Well you'll have to prove to me you aren't one, 'cause right now your condition isn't helping your argument at all, pussy." Artorias grumbled, knowing she wasn't wrong. She continued on, "You seemed to be better and more in control when we were talking about art. So how about you talk about your art with us, and maybe that discussion will keep your mind occupied with something other than how much this flight is making you be a pussy."

Artorius was ecstatic at that, it made sense, and would probably work. Why had he never thought of this before? Probably because his friends at Beacon, as much as they liked him, could never stand hearing him lecture about scrimshaw, and avoided the topic like it was geis or taboo.

"You're a genius Scythia!" Artorius exclaimed with joy, getting up and shaking Scythia's hand in gratitude. "Way to go Scythia!" Feuer cheered, doing a short dance of happiness. "Scythia my heart, that was a capital flash of inspiration!" Obisidianus agreed, lightly clapping Scythia on the back. Scythia looked very embarrassed, "You guys are just fucking flattering me!" she growled. "Nope." "No way." "Nay." "Stop it! It wasn't THAT good an idea!" Scythia fervently denied, clearly uncomfortable with the praise she was receiving. "It was, my heart. It's good to see you trying to actively assist a suffering soul in his time of need." Obsidianus warmly told Scythia. "Yeah, you should feel proud!" Feuer assured her. "I'm truly grateful." Artorius said while bowing. "Yeah, I guess you should, you pussy." Scythia replied as she grew more comfortable with the praise. "Don't make me regret it." Artorius shot back.

They all laughed, until Captain Wien announced through the speakers, "We're gettin' close ta our destination. In t'ree minutes, we should be above the drop point. Ya brats best be ready when tha' happen. I ain't gon' stay fer longer than five minutes at the drop point. Dun' want Nevermores ta attack ol' Betsy while we idle there. Or worse, Alarunes. 'Dem weeds is way too dangerous for me and Betsy ta stay fer longer than necessary."

"Alarunes? What are those?" Feuer asked confused.

"Are you shittin' me? You don't remember what the headmaster said? Boy! It sure must be fuckin'nice to be carefree, even when it is moronic!" Scythia spat acidly. Feuer stuck her tongue out at Scythia for that.

"Now now, it's been a while since Professor Ozpin mentioned it. It is not too unreasonable for her to have forgotten Scythia." Obsidianus chided. Feuer waved her hands back in forth, "Uhh, helllooo? Anyone gonna fill me in? Or are you all gonna dance around it? Like a May Pole?" she complained.

Although Artorius was very unsettled about the impending jump, he filled his friend in. "Feuer, remember when Ozpin was answering my question? He mentioned a unique plant-type Grimm living in the Shade Forest? Remember?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot. I didn't pay very close attention to his answer. I was distracted with how funny you were acting Art. Which was very funny. Hehe." Feuer winked and stuck out her tongue with a cute giggle.

Artorius looked exasperated, "Feuer…REALLY? Anyway, that plant-type Grimm is the Alarune. It's a particularly nasty type of Grimm. It's incredibly dangerous to aircraft, capable of using massive vines to pull them down from the sky. Which is why not a lot of aircraft fly over the Shade Forest, it's too dangerous."

"Ooh exciting! I hope we get to kill one! How awesome would that be! We'd totally kick its ass! Not that it has one being a plant and all….but we'd still kick its ass!" Feuer exclaimed with glee, slamming her right fist into her left palm.

"They're hard to deal with, but we'll probably be fine." Obsidianus said. "You're damn right we'd be fine! We're definitely fucking ready!" Scythia declared with confidence. "I really feel like you should work on that foul mouth of yours, Scythia my heart…..it's the opposite of your desire for eloquence in language." Obsidianus sighed.

"I'm not worried about the kinds of Grimm we might encounter, I've fought and defeated every type of Grimm you can find in the Shade Forest except for two, the Alarune being one. The four of us could probably take an Alarune no problem...but the other one we should avoid at all costs." Artorius stated. "Currently, I'm far more concerned about the damn jump I have to make in a few minutes than any Grimm we face down there….." Artorius bemoaned the soon to occur task, a grimace of distaste marring his features.

Feuer giggled, I have an idea that I think I might try if you can't jump down, Art." "Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to hate this idea of yours Feuer?" "Dunno, but I'm sure it'll work! Just trust me!" Feuer asserted with a sly look on her face. "This is going to suck so much….."

A/N: Well that was a chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it, I know I did. I might enjoy making Art suffer too much, but who cares right? Well, until next time, my lovely readers. Mikainox out!


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